On May 24, 2021, India and Israel governments signed a three-year joint work programme till 2023 with an eye on to enhance cooperation in the field of agriculture, under the 5th Indo-Israel Agriculture Action Plan (IIAP), four successfully completed programmes being from 2008 to 2010, 2012 to 2015, 2015 to 2018, and 2018 to 2020. Under this action plan, Indo-Israel Villages of Excellence (VoEs), a model ecosystem in agriculture will be set up across eight states along with 13 Indo-Israel Agricultural Project Centres of Excellence (CoEs) within 75 villages. TheVoEs will focus on modern agriculture infrastructure, capacity building, and market linkage.
This programme will aim at increasing the net income and bettering the livelihood of the individual framers, training them about the latest agricultural technology, and transforming farms into modern-intensive farms as per IIAP standards. It will benefit farmers locally both through the VoEs, and is a sign of the strength of the growing partnership between India and Israel. According to Ambassador of Israel to India Ron Malka, it will work to increase existing CoEs, grow CoEs value chain, set up new centres, and drive CoEs into the self-sufficient mode, which have become epicentres of transformation in the horticulture sector.
Both the countries had started an agricultural fund worth US$ 50 million that focused on dairy, farming technology, and micro-irrigation. By March 2014, 10 CoEs operated across India, offering free training sessions for farmers on efficient agricultural techniques using Israeli technological expertise. Vertical farming, drip irrigation, and soil solarisation are taught at these centres.
Key Highlights of the Indo-Israel Agriculture Action Plan
Key highlights of this action plan are as follows:
- The IAP is a bilateral partnership under which technology in the field of agriculture was transferred from Israel to India (Haryana and Maharashtra) through CoEs. So far, 29 CoEs have been set up under the IIAP and are operational in 12 states across the country.
- Each year, these CoEs train more than 1.2 lakh farmers about the latest agricultural technology, produce more than 3,87,000 fruits and more than 25 million vegetable seedlings of high quality.
- The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer’s Welfare, Government of India, and MASHAV (Hebrew acronym for Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation) are driving Israel’s largest government to government (G2G) cooperation.
Indo-Israel Bilateral Cooperation
India is Israel’s third largest trading partner in Asia and seventh largest globally. Bilateral trade and economic relations have progressed rapidly between India and Israel since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992—from US$ 200 million in 1992 (comprising primarily of diamonds), merchandise trade diversified and reached US$ 5.24 billion (excluding defence) in calendar year 2019 with the balance of trade being in India’s favour by more than US$ 1.9 billion.
In 2017, both sides signed and exchanged seven MoUs on cooperation in the areas of innovation, technology, water, agriculture and space & science. A US$ 40 million India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F) for joint-projects was also set up.
In 2018, both the countries signed nine agreements in various sectors, including cyber security, oil and gas, solar energy, space science, air transport, medicines, etc.
Major exports from India to Israel are pearls and precious stones, chemical and mineral products, machinery and electrical equipment, textile and textile articles, plastics, rubber, plants and vegetable products, mineral products, rubber and plastic products, base metals and transport equipment.
On the other hand, pearls and precious stones, chemical and mineral products, machinery and electrical equipment, base metals, defence, etc., are major exports from Israel to India.
In 2020, an Israeli team came to India with a mission, Operation Breathing Space (code name) and worked with Indian authorities on the COVID-19 response.
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